More flesh than the obvious…..which part of the CV.

Ever seen a CV with a lot of words and descriptions around unnecessary areas? Then wait till you are an interviewer. Most job applicants get the idea of flesh wrong. ‘Flesh’ in our case means the area in both your CV and cover letter that you should give a lot of attention and give more detailed descriptions. Imagine if we gave all areas equal attention then a CV or cover letter will be a booklet of researched writing. Basic facts are that there are sections of your CV and cover letter that should be given more attention than others. If you have attempted to write a CV or cover letter, you can attest to the fact that there are a few areas that an employer looks at.
There is something referred to striking when it is absolutely necessary, or making your move when the stakes are high.  This applies directly to your CV or cover letter. Let me give you an example, last year I was consulted to assist one of the state parastatals in recruitment and selection, worse there was a vacancy of ‘management trainee’ among the vacancies advertised. Normally a management trainee position will attract thousands of applicants with all forms of qualifications. Have you ever thought of going through three thousand CVs and selecting around twenty for interview and almost all these CVs have similar qualifications? This will call for prudent judgment. What I will do is to go straight to the important sections of your CV or cover letter.

I know by now you know the common characteristics of a good CV (refer to our article on a ‘Winning CV’) such as brief, straight to the point, organized and a similar font. All you have to have are sections but some sections are more important than others. There are two important parts in your CV which we suggest that you should give more flesh and attention than the rest. They are:
1.       Educational descriptions sections:  As much as a CV should be brief, these sections should not be precise because you need to give details of your educational background. Look at any job advert, under the requirements sections; they will always give preference to educational qualifications. While you match your qualifications with those of the job advertised, make sure you represent that information well in the CV.
2.       Past job experience section: Most employers will insist on experience and this will call for a good descriptive analysis of your experience while matching it with the advertised job performance goals. Give this section a lot of thought before writing it because it is one of the sections that an employer easily jumps to when presented with a lot of CVs. Be careful not to overdo it but maintain temperance in your descriptions.
In the cover letter, there is only one section that should be given a lot attention:
·         The second paragraph of the cover letter: This is the paragraph that will tell not only of your intentions to apply for the job advertised but why you feel that you are the most qualified person for the job. In this paragraph, you present a sneak preview of your qualifications and how well they match with what the organization is looking for. Give this part flesh and use very good verbs in describing yourself.
We hope that the next time you come up with CVs and cover letters; you will consider these basic facts that tend to be forgotten. In giving flesh, we do not mean that you write even unnecessary words just to fill the pages but be as comprehensive as possible. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and look at everything you write from the other angle.

We at HCC wish you all the best.